


Oceanic Aria

by asoryuun



Series: Sky Blue, Sea Green [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Selkies, Sirens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:47:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26038915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asoryuun/pseuds/asoryuun
Summary: Purely by the whims of fate, the scheming siren gets more than what he bargained for when he rescues a protective seal.For the Dimiclaude Week Day 4 Prompt: Mythological Creatures
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan
Series: Sky Blue, Sea Green [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1890154
Comments: 3
Kudos: 70





	Oceanic Aria

**Author's Note:**

> happy dmcl week 2.0!! here's my slightly late contribution for the Day 4 prompt: mythological creatures. i had plans to do something more lighthearted and then it turned into this. but i still want to continue this mini-series! bird siren claude and steller seal dimitri...love them 
> 
> andd it's not me if i don't have musically oriented claude, especially not when his seiyuu literally has a song about it. I highly recommended listening to "siren" by toshiyuki toyonaga to get a sense of how i imagined siren claude would sound 
> 
> thank you for reading as always!!

He always had an answer for any question. At the very least, that was his intention. But even he couldn’t explain why he did what he did. 

It was the whims of fate, he decided, even when he swooped down and made sure to hide behind a rock.

He’d always been attuned to changes in sound, of course, that was all he dealt with. So when he heard a roar amid splashes of water it was only normal for him to investigate the source at the shore. 

The first he noticed was the giant sea lion. It was a golden-brown color, but had streaks of red from the cuts its assailants were leaving on it. The next thing he noticed was the giant X-shaped scar etched into it as well. It was much older than the bleeding cuts, but obvious all the same.

Finally, he saw a glimpse of the sea lion’s assailants: a squid, an octopus, and a leopard seal all took turns trying to wound the great creature, eliciting a pained bark every time they succeeded.

Claude wasn’t soft. He wasn’t about to do something out of the goodness of his heart. He just had to know what kind of creatures would stoop to ganging up on a single animal like this, no matter how big it was. You know. For his own future reference, in case he needed to do the same.

And he absolutely didn’t have any interest in those creatures called animals. None at all. This really was a rare coincidence that led him to spring out and sing, in front of other living beings no less. It was just long enough to lull them all to sleep before he made his escape with the golden one, bolting into clouds and out of sight.

He didn’t say anything as he carried the sea lion. But he wanted to because by the gods was it _heavy._

\--

Claude heard the sea lion before he saw it awaken. The sea lion tossed and turned and barked and howled in its sleep, until it jerked awake on its own. Claude was the first thing it saw, and it stilled, its single eye widening.

Claude only grinned. “Hello, Mister Sleepy. Sir Sealy? Your Sealiness?” Those scars around his head looked a little like a crown if he really squinted. Given his size, maybe he was high up in the sea lion kingdom. He could only wonder why there would suddenly be a revolt in the ocean.

The sea lion’s initial look of what seemed to be awe (it was hard to really say, maybe the wide eyes were a natural characteristic) actually turned baleful, and it was so expressive Claude couldn’t help but laugh. “At ease! I mean you no harm physically, but I suppose I can’t make any promises for emotionally.”

His laugh didn’t put the creature completely at ease, but it seemed to help.

“They do call us sirens, but if I’m being honest, all I really do is convince the uppity sailors who want to come to conquer the lost underwater city or legendary triangle that, oops! It’s actually in a different direction than they were told. I’m very persuasive, as it turns out. And if that path may be sliiiightly more dangerous than they anticipated…” He shrugged. “How would I have known? If they want to break down walls, they have to be strong enough. You could even say I’m doing them a favor.”

The sea lion still had that unamused look and gave a single grunt in response. “I know, I’m just comforting my own peace of mind. Who can say I really have the right to judge who gets to live or die? Me personally, I’d like to keep living as long as I can. I imagine a lot of others would, too. I’ll steer them away from _certain_ doom at the very least. They’ll have to figure out the rest for themselves.”

His friend (he’d like to think they were, considering he just saved it) let out a resigned-sounding _boof_ but wiggled closer all the same.

“Heh, do you understand me? Or am I just assuming based on the funny coincidences that make it look like you’re reacting? I wouldn’t put it past me, honestly. Not when I’m just blabbing whatever comes to mind. I’ve never really talked to anyone about that before.”

He and his friends really were just trying to survive. But that didn’t mean he thought nothing of the possible scenarios of his actions from time to time. It was quite the opposite, and as impromptu leader he couldn’t voice this as often as he’d like to those following him. Not just yet.

Was it his delusion? The sea lion’s eye (awfully blue, he thought) seemed to soften and the animal came even closer. Not so much that they were touching, but closer all the same. 

“You know,” his mouth seemed to move on its own. “Where I come from, there always used to be a legend about this bird. It’s called the Huma, and it supposedly gives gifts to those in need. Even just seeing it is supposed to make someone happy, but no one has. It’s invisible, because of course it is. Makes you wonder where people get these kinda myths from, right? But you know…” he lets his voice get softer, because it’s not like the sea lion can use what he’s about to reveal against him. “while I’m a mere, lowly siren, I think it’d be nice to be like a Huma to someone, just by being present. Even to a lone sea lion.”

He poked said creature’s nose, laughing as its eye scrunched up. “Keep your lips _sealed_ about that, won’t you?” His ears might have been playing tricks on him too: he could have sworn he heard the bark of a laugh at his terrible joke.

Now it was his turn to sleep. He couldn’t do that in complete silence, but he was already halfway there from singing earlier. Projecting one’s voice was important for their kind, but its power could take a toll on the body at times. Here, though, he could sing gradually sing him and his company back to sleep, his voice quiet and soft. He sang of a phantom voice, encompassing sea and sky and even dreams.

When Claude woke up, the sea lion was gone, a cloak the only proof of change that day. It was carefully placed over him, a huge thing with both black and white fur that covered him completely and then some. The salty scent of the sea and the sweetness of something else he couldn’t place clung to it.

He wrapped it tighter around himself, even as the sun was coming up.

\--

He kept the cloak for a while, and why not? Even if it made him fly a little slower with how heavy it was, he didn’t mind. It was warm on icier days and made a good shade when he needed a break from the sun.

Maybe he shouldn’t have flaunted it so much, conspicuous as it was even high in the sky. But he’d always been fond of taking risks.

Even if that led him to his current situation, many seasons later. Now Claude was the outnumbered one, those _exact_ creatures approaching him at near his base.

“It’s not very fair to interrupt someone, you know,” the octopus-now-lady crooned sweetly. Her appendages swayed in warning even as her tone remained light. “Now we have to make you our prey, too.”

He laughed to oppose the growing dread inside him. “And as much as I’ll respect anyone for their religious beliefs, I’d rather not be part of anything to do with pray.” He could still try to escape, but those tentacles looked long, it was too much of a risk just yet.

Her eye twitched. “You—“

“ _Get away from him_.”

Now Claude would have _loved_ to use the entrance of this stranger as his excuse to escape. He was even about to turn and do just that until he caught hint of a familiar, sweet-and-salty scent.

There stood that golden one, or _a_ golden one. But he was human now, towering over all of them and baring his teeth. But Claude had seen that X-shaped scar long before, and knew who this was even without confirming so with his eye. He knew it would be blue.

“Oh, so now the runaway _King_ —“ the word was spat out in disgust, “—Dimitri is going to preach to us in all his glory.”

“How nice to see you again,” the leopard seal, now a man gray in both hair and skin, said, smiling with razor-sharp teeth. “You caused so much trouble disappearing on us before, I believe it a wonderful twist of fate we can rid the world of you both at once.”

Dimitri (?) only roared in response. The sound didn’t seem to come from deep inside him, but maybe somewhere deeper than hell instead, and it made Claude’s wings ruffle, tensed and even more ready to take flight.

Even their supposed predators weren’t unaffected, scowling and moving back a little.

Claude decided now was the best time to dip, but as soon as he moved, so did Dimitri. Almost as if they were synchronized, but Claude had no way of predicting his next action. The next few moments were a blur, save for Dimitri picking him up easily and bolting faster than a stream.

There had been silence between them for a while, until Claude could stand it no more, because that scent seemed to be strongest at his company’s bare chest. “So, Dimitri?”

The man (seal?) glanced down at him, sighing in relief and tickling Claude’s hair with it. “I’m really so glad it only took me five years to find you again, instead of seven. I’m sorry I couldn’t thank you then...um…”

“…” That was nothing if not a loaded statement, but he didn’t want to overwhelm him with questions just yet, or even the reminder that Dimitri had left first. He probably had his reasons, especially if he was being followed. “You can call me Claude.”

“Claude,” Dimitri breathed, as if savoring his first bite of a delicacy for the first time and immediately deciding to go back for more. “Claude, Claude, _Claude_ …”

He was almost embarrassed enough to tell Dimitri that wasn’t his original name, but they weren’t nearly at that stage yet. He settled for facilitating this situation to answer his questions instead.

“How…did you even know it was me again?” He paused, realizing he was clutching the cloak. “Okay, besides the dead giveaway like those…slithery things saw. I _really_ have to ask you about that. But still, I could have swindled this off of the real person you were looking for! They sound like a real sucker, if you ask me.”

“You…had eyes.”

Claude balked. “I had _eyes_?”

Dimitri flushed, the eye that wasn’t covered by his hair looking away. “Your eyes. They were mesmeriz—memorable.”

That was so very _cheesy,_ the very opposite of smooth _,_ and Claude couldn’t help but laugh.

“And your voice.”

Claude shut up mid-laugh. “My voice is deeper than it used to be. I don’t sing that much. It can’t match up to whatever you knew before, right?”

He was well known among the other sirens for his voice back in the day. But he so rarely sung nowadays, those rumors turned nastier over time. Some whispered about how he had spun so many lies he had rightfully lost his voice. Not that he would entertain those sayings directly just to disprove them.

Surely it didn’t help that as he grew older, he became more careful with his words along the way. It was only right as a planner, secretly still a dreamer at heart.

Suddenly, Dimitri had him sit down on a rock, kneeling in front of him so his forearms were on Claude’s knees. It should have felt gross. Dimitri was a selkie, his skin smooth and slippery. But Claude couldn’t find it in him to even pretend to recoil, to fly away as he usually did.

He could never dream that this would be happening now, that Dimitri would suddenly launch into an emboldened tirade, seemingly scandalized at Claude’s words.

“You literally saved me by singing,” Dimitri said, much too tender. “Your voice cut through everything, and I could barely think about anything else anymore. Not since I heard you. Music would mean nothing compared to your words, even if you sing in your sleep. I’m not sure what anyone’s told you about your voice getting deeper, but they’re wrong. It still rings so clearly, like a bell. I know if you really wanted to, it would toll even more powerfully than it did before.”

“I..I know I’m a great singer and all. Or I mean, I was _,_ ” Claude argued. “But I’m…a _siren._ That’s literally my thing. Don’t you think you’re just setting yourself up for disaster, getting caught up in someone like me? Someone who could very well be scheming your demise?”

Dimitri blinked. “You told me you wanted to be like the Huma bird. And you really were to me. I’m truly grateful to you for then, and just for this moment, if it let me see you again.”

Maybe Dimitri _was_ a little smooth, when he wasn’t trying to be. Just a little. Claude let out a low laugh, not feeling his strongest after that onslaught. And he was the one who was supposed to be good with words. “Me? But you know those sayings about letting a seal—or I guess sea lion, actually—die. Just letting it happen would almost be like if I did the deed myself. I’m no savior king—“

He cut himself off when he saw Dimitri’s smile, a hint of mischief so hard to miss it was almost like he was looking in a mirror. And suddenly that reflection was _closer._ Dimitri was suddenly even more slippery, as if his very movement was water. In one swift motion, he wrapped that damned cloak around him and pulled Claude in so they were nose to nose.

“You seem so confident at first, but you certainly doubt yourself a lot. Won’t you sing for me again? Then we can truly determine that.” Dimitri nuzzled against Claude for good measure, a testament to the cheekiness that was slowly but surely coming out.

Dimitri’s eye was so very blue. Blue like his marine home, and Claude’s aerial one. But even as a dweller of the sky, Claude feels like he’s lost his bearings at sea, at this man—this selkie—whose body could probably swallow his own in more ways than one.

“Well. Now I see why they also say not to answer anything sea lions ask. I feel like I’m about to cross a very dangerous bridge here.” It really wasn’t like him to make things easy, not with him at the supposed centerpiece. He was used to sneaking his way from the side, not barreling his way into things the way Dimitri seemed to. Or at least if he _did,_ he’d give it a lot of thought beforehand.

“You’re the siren here, I thought you’d be well accustomed with dangerous bridges by now. Or are you only used to leading others down them?” Dimitri’s expression was just a little too self-satisfied for his liking.

“H-hey, at least give me some time to take all this in. You had five whole years, _Your Sealiness_. I just have these two events. How was I supposed to predict the cute sea lion I rescued—entirely on a whim—would actually be a selkie? I know nature is under no one’s control, but that’s really pushing fate.”

Claude noticed his own slip-up only when his attempted jab already escaped him, and now Dimitri’s long teeth were visible with the strength of his smile. “You think I’m cute?”

Focused on the exact thing he wanted to leave in the dark. He was _certain_ Dimitri could feel the redness in his nose. “Ah-ah! I used past tense! Past! The present and future are still going strong! Speaking of which,” he eased into his usual talent of misdirection, “I won’t be able to use this secret base anymore. Not when those slithers have seen it.” Not when he knew more fellow sirens also made shelters nearby, too. “I’ll just have to keep moving place to place. Maybe come back if I want to visit a friend for a little, though,” oh gods, he was speaking too fast, he could tell, “even if that doesn’t happen for a whi—“

“I’d like to go with you.” Not a single beat missed on Dimitri’s part, but maybe Claude’s heart skipped a few at the surety in his words.

Claude wasn’t sure what look he wore on his face, not when it was hard to place the tingly feeling in him suddenly. It was just surprise, he’d like to think. Warmer surprise than he’d felt before, but surprise nonetheless.

Whatever his expression was, there it was, that shy look on Dimitri that he’d been waiting to see again. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever get used to how Dimitri shifted between that and the tease from before. “If—if you’ll have me, I mean.”

Claude couldn’t help but laugh out the breath he was holding, leaning impossibly closer and glad that his red nose seemed to spread to Dimitri’s, as well as his cheeks. “Well, you have me right now, quite literally. It’s only fair for me to have you, too.”

What did “having” this whole development at all even mean? It didn’t fit into any of the well-structured categories in his brain yet, but that wasn’t a problem. He left that bit vague on purpose, already anticipating the mystery of his new companion and what lingered in the future regardless.

For now, for them, that was answer enough.


End file.
